Ficlet: Brightly Shining
Title: Brightly Shining
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: G
Word Count: 770
Spoilers: Post-CoE, but Ianto is alive.
Summary: No matter which world he’s on, looking up at the stars helps Ianto feel closer to Jack.
Written For: Challenge 420: Shine at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my ‘Through Time and Space’ ‘Verse.
The stars in the night sky above alien worlds aren’t the same ones Ianto used to look up at back on earth when Jack was gone, wondering where his lover might be, what sights he might be witnessing, and what adventures he might be having. Well, maybe some of them are the same, just seen from a different perspective, but the constellations he remembers are nowhere to be found. Alien skies are, unsurprisingly, alien, although the stars shine just as bright as they did back home, and sometimes even brighter.
Ianto has visited over a hundred worlds by now, in his never-ending search for the man he loved and lost. Or is he the one who was lost? He died, after all, and wherever Jack might be, he no doubt still believes Ianto is dead. Still, there’s nothing to be done regarding that misconception, not until Ianto can locate his lover and prove that his death back in Thames House was nowhere near as permanent as either of them believed.
Sometimes, like tonight, Ianto still likes to look up at the stars and wonder where Jack is. In a weird way, it makes him feel closer to the man he misses so much, because… He fixes his eyes on a particularly bright star, shining out like a beacon even amidst the massed points of light that fill the sky as seen from this planet. It’s like a finely cut diamond amid chips of glass, and thanks to his TARDIS, he knows that’s because it’s the closest star to this solar system. She has also informed him that there are five planets orbiting the star, two gas giants and three that are inhabited.
Could Jack be there, on one of those three worlds? Or if he isn’t there right now, maybe he has been, or will be in the near future. That, Ianto decides, is where they’ll go next, so they can find out one way or another. And if they don’t find Jack in that solar system, they’ll move on to another, and another, and another… They’ll travel to every star in the universe, and visit every planet, if that’s what it takes to track Jack down, because he has to be somewhere, and even in the vastness of the universe, they’re bound to run into each other eventually. It’s simply a matter of how long it will take, and one of the best things about being immortal is that he doesn’t have to worry about running out of time.
Near or far, Jack is out there somewhere, perhaps looking up at the same stars that Ianto is seeing right now, wondering where to go next. Do the stars shine as brightly for him as they do for Ianto? Or sunk in grief and self-recrimination over the loss of both his grandson and his lover, have they lost their shine for him? Ianto hopes not. It’s been more than a year and a half since his first death, and he hates to think of Jack burdened down with the pain of loss for so long. It may even have been longer for Jack, if he’s found a way to travel through time, in which case Ianto can only hope that by now the pain has eased, and Jack’s poor, battered heart is healing. He wasn’t to blame for Ianto’s death, or even for Steven’s, and no matter what he believes, he doesn’t deserve to suffer.
“I will find you, Jack,” Ianto promises, gazing up at the brightest star. “If it takes the rest of time, I will never stop looking until I do. Please don’t forget me.” That’s what he fears the most, that when he finally does catch up to Jack, his Captain will have no memory of him. He’s not sure he could bear that.
He refuses to give in to doubts and despair though. As Ianto was breathing his last, Jack promised to remember him for a thousand years, and Ianto intends to hold him to it. Jack cared enough to make that vow as Ianto lay dying in his arms, did everything in his power to save him, even though he failed. That knowledge shines in Ianto’s heart like a beacon of hope, spurring him on, because no one capable of loving so deeply could possibly forget so easily.
There’s still a long road ahead, travelling from star to star, visiting each planet he comes across that’s capable of supporting life, but Ianto has to believe that on one of them he’ll find Jack, and when he does, they’ll never have to lose each other again.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: G
Word Count: 770
Spoilers: Post-CoE, but Ianto is alive.
Summary: No matter which world he’s on, looking up at the stars helps Ianto feel closer to Jack.
Written For: Challenge 420: Shine at fan_flashworks.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my ‘Through Time and Space’ ‘Verse.
The stars in the night sky above alien worlds aren’t the same ones Ianto used to look up at back on earth when Jack was gone, wondering where his lover might be, what sights he might be witnessing, and what adventures he might be having. Well, maybe some of them are the same, just seen from a different perspective, but the constellations he remembers are nowhere to be found. Alien skies are, unsurprisingly, alien, although the stars shine just as bright as they did back home, and sometimes even brighter.
Ianto has visited over a hundred worlds by now, in his never-ending search for the man he loved and lost. Or is he the one who was lost? He died, after all, and wherever Jack might be, he no doubt still believes Ianto is dead. Still, there’s nothing to be done regarding that misconception, not until Ianto can locate his lover and prove that his death back in Thames House was nowhere near as permanent as either of them believed.
Sometimes, like tonight, Ianto still likes to look up at the stars and wonder where Jack is. In a weird way, it makes him feel closer to the man he misses so much, because… He fixes his eyes on a particularly bright star, shining out like a beacon even amidst the massed points of light that fill the sky as seen from this planet. It’s like a finely cut diamond amid chips of glass, and thanks to his TARDIS, he knows that’s because it’s the closest star to this solar system. She has also informed him that there are five planets orbiting the star, two gas giants and three that are inhabited.
Could Jack be there, on one of those three worlds? Or if he isn’t there right now, maybe he has been, or will be in the near future. That, Ianto decides, is where they’ll go next, so they can find out one way or another. And if they don’t find Jack in that solar system, they’ll move on to another, and another, and another… They’ll travel to every star in the universe, and visit every planet, if that’s what it takes to track Jack down, because he has to be somewhere, and even in the vastness of the universe, they’re bound to run into each other eventually. It’s simply a matter of how long it will take, and one of the best things about being immortal is that he doesn’t have to worry about running out of time.
Near or far, Jack is out there somewhere, perhaps looking up at the same stars that Ianto is seeing right now, wondering where to go next. Do the stars shine as brightly for him as they do for Ianto? Or sunk in grief and self-recrimination over the loss of both his grandson and his lover, have they lost their shine for him? Ianto hopes not. It’s been more than a year and a half since his first death, and he hates to think of Jack burdened down with the pain of loss for so long. It may even have been longer for Jack, if he’s found a way to travel through time, in which case Ianto can only hope that by now the pain has eased, and Jack’s poor, battered heart is healing. He wasn’t to blame for Ianto’s death, or even for Steven’s, and no matter what he believes, he doesn’t deserve to suffer.
“I will find you, Jack,” Ianto promises, gazing up at the brightest star. “If it takes the rest of time, I will never stop looking until I do. Please don’t forget me.” That’s what he fears the most, that when he finally does catch up to Jack, his Captain will have no memory of him. He’s not sure he could bear that.
He refuses to give in to doubts and despair though. As Ianto was breathing his last, Jack promised to remember him for a thousand years, and Ianto intends to hold him to it. Jack cared enough to make that vow as Ianto lay dying in his arms, did everything in his power to save him, even though he failed. That knowledge shines in Ianto’s heart like a beacon of hope, spurring him on, because no one capable of loving so deeply could possibly forget so easily.
There’s still a long road ahead, travelling from star to star, visiting each planet he comes across that’s capable of supporting life, but Ianto has to believe that on one of them he’ll find Jack, and when he does, they’ll never have to lose each other again.
The End